Docker Essentials: Container Volumes
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30 minutes
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gem-docker-volumes
Activate Cloud Shell
Cloud Shell is a virtual machine that is loaded with development tools. It offers a persistent 5GB home directory and runs on the Google Cloud. Cloud Shell provides command-line access to your Google Cloud resources.
- Click Activate Cloud Shell
at the top of the Google Cloud console.
When you are connected, you are already authenticated, and the project is set to your PROJECT_ID. The output contains a line that declares the PROJECT_ID for this session:
Your Cloud Platform project in this session is set to YOUR_PROJECT_ID
gcloud is the command-line tool for Google Cloud. It comes pre-installed on Cloud Shell and supports tab-completion.
- (Optional) You can list the active account name with this command:
gcloud auth list
-
Click Authorize.
-
Your output should now look like this:
Output:
ACTIVE: *
ACCOUNT: student-01-xxxxxxxxxxxx@qwiklabs.net
To set the active account, run:
$ gcloud config set account `ACCOUNT`
- (Optional) You can list the project ID with this command:
gcloud config list project
Output:
[core]
project = <project_ID>
Example output:
[core]
project = qwiklabs-gcp-44776a13dea667a6
Note: For full documentation of gcloud, in Google Cloud, refer to the gcloud CLI overview guide.
Overview
This lab explores Docker volumes, a critical mechanism for data persistence in containerized applications. You'll learn how volumes work, the different types available, and how to use them to ensure your data survives container restarts and removals. This lab assumes a basic understanding of Docker and Linux.
Task 1. Understanding Docker Volumes
This task will cover the fundamentals of docker volumes.
- What are Docker Volumes? Docker volumes are directories (or files) that are external to the container's filesystem. This means that the data within a volume persists even if the container is stopped, removed, or recreated. Why are they important? By default, data inside a container is ephemeral, meaning it's lost when the container is stopped or removed. Volumes provide a way to store persistent data, such as databases, configuration files, or user uploads.
# No code required for this step. This is a conceptual overview.
- Types of Volumes: Docker offers three primary types of volumes: named volumes, bind mounts, and tmpfs mounts. Named volumes are managed by Docker and stored in a Docker-managed directory on the host machine. They are the preferred way to persist data. Bind mounts map a directory or file on the host machine directly into the container. They offer more flexibility but can also introduce security risks if not used carefully. tmpfs mounts are stored in the host's memory and are not persisted across container restarts. They are useful for storing temporary data that doesn't need to be saved.
# No code required for this step. This is a conceptual overview.
Task 2. Creating and Using Named Volumes
This task demonstrates how to create and use named volumes to persist data.
- Create a named volume called 'mydata'.
docker volume create mydata
- Inspect the volume to see its details. Note the Mountpoint; this is where the volume data is stored on the host.
docker volume inspect mydata
- Run a container that uses the 'mydata' volume. This example uses a simple Alpine Linux container and mounts the volume to the
/data directory inside the container.
docker run -it -v mydata:/data alpine ash
- Create a file inside the active container.
cd /data
echo "Hello from inside the container!" > myfile.txt
exit
- Stop the container.
docker stop $(docker ps -aq)
- Remove the container.
docker rm $(docker ps -aq)
- Run a new container using the same volume.
docker run -it -v mydata:/data alpine ash
- Verify that the 'myfile.txt' file still exists in the
/data directory.
cd /data
ls -l
cat myfile.txt
exit
- Clean up the volume (optional).
docker volume rm mydata
Task 3. Using Bind Mounts
This task demonstrates how to use bind mounts to share data between the host and a container.
- Create a directory on your host machine.
mkdir ~/host_data
- Create a file in the directory.
echo "Hello from the host!" > ~/host_data/hostfile.txt
- Run a container and bind-mount the directory to
/data inside the container.
docker run -it -v /home/$USER/host_data:/data alpine ash
- Modify the file from inside the container.
echo "This line added from container" >> /data/hostfile.txt
cat /data/hostfile.txt
exit
- Check the file on the host machine. The changes made inside the container should be reflected on the host.
cat ~/host_data/hostfile.txt
- Clean up the directory (optional).
rm -rf ~/host_data
Task 4. Using Volumes with Docker Compose
This task demonstrates how to define and use volumes within a Docker Compose file.
- Create a
docker-compose.yml file with the following content. This example defines a simple web server using the nginx image and mounts a volume to the /usr/share/nginx/html directory to serve static content.
version: "3.3"
services:
web:
image: nginx:latest
ports:
- "8080:80"
volumes:
- web_data:/usr/share/nginx/html
volumes:
web_data:
- Create an
index.html file in the same directory as the docker-compose.yml file with some basic HTML content.
<html>
<head>
<title>Docker Compose Volume Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<div><strong>Hello from Docker Compose!</strong></div>
<p>This content is served from a Docker volume.</p>
</body>
</html>
- Start the application using Docker Compose.
docker-compose up -d
- Access the application in your browser at
http://localhost:8080. You should see the content from the index.html file.
curl http://localhost:8080
- Stop and remove the application.
docker-compose down
Congratulations!
In this lab, you explored Docker volumes and their importance for data persistence. You learned how to create and use named volumes and bind mounts, and how to define volumes in Docker Compose files. Understanding volumes is crucial for building stateful containerized applications.
Additional Resources
Manual Last Updated Jun 24, 2025
Lab Last Tested Jun 24, 2025
